A/N: I am so so so sorry that this took so long to get up! I've had terrible writer's block, and this chapter probably won't even make up for it, but it's something. This and the next chapter, which I'll hopefully get up soon, were originally one chapter, but I'm having writer's block on the end of next chapter so I decided to split it up. There's still a good amount left to this story, so be patient, I'll try to get it up sooner from now on.

Chapter Ten

"Nine years, Troy, Nine years," Gabriella said, her voice trembling out of anger and apprehension. "He left nine years ago, I haven't seen him since."

Troy looked at Gabriella with worry clear on his face. She had never told him anything about her father, he just knew he wasn't around. He had assumed some kind of divorce, but he hadn't wanted to ask in case it brought up bitter memories. But now that her father was standing outside, Troy had to face reality and make a decision. Then he was struck by another thought...could he be dangerous?

"Gabriella, he wasn't...abusive, or anything, was he?"

"No, nothing like that," she said, shaking her head heavily.

Troy sighed, unsure of what to do. He didn't want to let the man in without Gabriella's permission, but he also didn't want to leave him out on the doorstep. Not to mention, Chad, Taylor and Sharpay were still outside, probably wondering what was going on.

There was a soft knock on the door and Troy looked towards Gabriella for some advice on what to do. Her eyes met his, and she nodded in a silent agreement as she stepped aside. Troy hesitantly opened the door, silently praying that things would work out okay.

Gabriella's father still stood behind the door, and gave Troy a small smile as he stepped aside.

"Oh, Gabi," her father said to her as he stepped inside, "You've grown up so much, you're beautiful."

"Don't call me Gabi," Gabriella said harshly, staring her father straight in the eye. She hadn't seen him in nine years and she wasn't about to forgive him for a few compliments.

"How did you find me here?" she asked coldly, "This isn't even my house."

Her father looked down, but kept the soft smile on his face. "I know, I was at your house and your mother told me I could find you here. I'm assuming your Troy?"

Troy looked up at the man, whose hand was extended towards him. He hesitantly shook it, still not sure what to think of him. He seemed nice enough, but Gabriella seemed to hate him.

"Gabriella," her father said softly, rubbing at his eyes, "I understand that this is a shock and that you're angry. I came here for a reason, and it's important, but I can see you aren't willing to talk to me right now."

Gabriella looked down at the ground and remained silent. For a minute she just wanted to run up and hug him, tell him how much she missed him, but the logical side of her shot the idea down immediately. She had dreamed of her father returning for months, even for a few years, after her father had left but she had come to face the fact that he wasn't coming back. Now that she was older, she was too angry to let him back into her life right away.

"I'll wait at your house with your mother for now," he said, "I'll give you some time to think, we can talk later."

Gabriella's father turned around and headed back down the stairs, passing Sharpay, Taylor and Chad who had expressions of shock and confusion on their faces.

"We'll go," Taylor said, heading down the stairs and pulling Chad and Sharpay with her. "You two talk. I'll call you later, Gabriella."

Troy closed the door behind them and turned to face Gabriella, who was staring at nothing in particular. If she wanted to talk, he'd talk, but if she didn't he wasn't going to push.

"I'm sorry, Troy," Gabriella said quietly, blinking back a few tears, "I just can't believe he showed up here."

Troy sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He hated seeing Gabriella upset, and it always seemed like there was nothing he could do to fix it.

"Don't apologize," he said, taking a few steps closer to her and pulling her into a hug. He kissed the top of her head as she squeezed him tightly, glad he was always there to comfort her.

"I guess I should tell you about him," Gabriella said as she broke apart from Troy and plopped onto his living room couch.

"Only if you want to," Troy told her, sitting next to her on the couch. "If you want to talk, I'll listen, but otherwise we can just sit here if that's what you want."

Gabriella smiled at how caring he was. She wanted to tell him about her father, she just didn't know if she'd be able to. She had never talked to anybody about her father, not really even her mother. After he left, they had acted as if he'd never existed at all, and she had never shared her feelings with anybody. She was tired of keeping her feelings bottled up, though, and she would at least attempt to tell Troy about her father.

"He had been a great father," Gabriella began as she thought back to a night when she was about six.

"Gabi, honey, there's only one rule to the sundae-making process."

"What is it Daddy?" Gabriella asked as she looked over the table. It was covered with bowls of bright colored candy, sprinkles, chocolate, hot fudge, and of course, multiple flavors of ice cream.

"Put on as much stuff as possible" Her father told her with a big smile, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "Let's start with the ice cream. How many scoops do you want Gabi?"

"Ummm...Two?"

"Only two?"

"Well, Mommy only lets me have two at a time," Gabriella said.

"Oh, I see," her father told her with a warm smile, "But I won't tell if you don't."

"Okay!" Gabriella said as she watched her father fill her bowl with ice cream.

"Okay, Gabi, next the chocolate syrup," he said, handing her the bottle, "Put as much as you want."

Her father gave a small laugh as he watched his small daughter drown her ice cream in syrup. She went on to add a variety of toppings, filling the bowl to the rim.

"Now what?" Gabriella asked, peering down into her bowl.

"Now we add your favorite," her father told her, "Cherries!" he plopped three cherries onto her sundae and opened a nearby drawer to get spoons.

"Next is my favorite part," he said, "We eat!"

Gabriella's father laughed as Gabriella spooned ice cream into her mouth, getting more on her face than into her mouth. He grabbed a few napkins and handed them to her, scooping her into a hug as he did so and planting a kiss on her cheek.

"I love you sweetie."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Gabriella had come to love the nights when it was just her and her father, he had always planned something fun. Her mom was rarely out without her father, but when she was Gabriella always knew her father had something in store for them.

"Troy, I don't know what happened. He was so perfect. He was the last person you'd think would leave. I remember he used to read to me every night," Gabriella paused, a small smile on her lips, "But then I don't know what happened. I mean, my parents seemed happy, I never suspected anything was wrong...but I guess something was. He just left...no explanation, no goodbye. I woke up one morning and he was gone. My mom said she didn't know anything."

"I'm sorry," Troy said, not really sure what to say in response to that.

Gabriella gave Troy a small smile. "Don't worry about it though. I mean I wished for years that he'd come back, give me a huge hug and tell me it was all a mistake. But, I got over it now. I realized he wasn't coming back. I guess he wasn't the person I always thought he was," Gabriella said, which was mostly true. She had long ago accepted the fact that he wasn't coming back for her, no matter how hard she wished. "I just don't know why he's back now."

Troy smiled at Gabriella. "Maybe he just wants to explain or something."

Gabriella shrugged. "Probably. Seems pretty selfish to me, though. He just wants to make sure everything is okay before I die."

Troy looked at her sympathetically, feeling terrible for all she was going through. He wished he could slow time down a little, and prolong what Gabriella had left. He knew he couldn't, but it wouldn't stop him from wishing for a miracle any chance he got.

"You read to head over there?" Troy asked, "I'll come with you."

"In a little while," Gabriella said, smiling up at Troy. She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss. "Thank you, for being so supportive and everything."

"That's okay," Troy said, sliding an arm around her and pulling her closer, "I love you."

"I love you too."

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